Keynote Speakers
Keynote Speaker:
Ivan Kanapathy
Ivan Kanapathy is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, a senior associate with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and a non-resident senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. From 2018 to 2021, he served as the U.S. National Security Council’s director for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia, and later as deputy senior director for Asia. Ivan has an extensive background in U.S. national security, particularly in advising top officials on Indo-Pacific security and geopolitical affairs. Previously, Ivan served at the American Institute in Taiwan, representing the U.S. Department of Defense and advising senior Taiwanese officials on regional security. A former U.S. Marine, Ivan completed five deployments and was a TOPGUN instructor with 2,500 flight hours. He holds an M.A. in Indo-Pacific security studies from the Naval Postgraduate School, a B.S. in physics and economics from Carnegie Mellon University, and an A.A. in Chinese-Mandarin from the Defense Language Institute.
Keynote Speaker (Virtual):
Andrew J. Nathan
Andrew J. Nathan is the Class of 1919 Professor of Political Science at Columbia University. He is renowned for his expertise in Chinese politics, political culture, and human rights. His works include Chinese Democracy (1985), The Tiananmen Papers (2001), and China’s Search for Security (2012). Nathan has held various leadership roles at Columbia, including Director of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute and Chair of the Department of Political Science. He is the Asia and Pacific book reviewer for Foreign Affair and serves on the steering committee for the Asian Barometer Survey. Off campus, Nathan has been involved with several human rights organizations, including Freedom House and Human Rights Watch. He holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University and has played a pivotal role in shaping the study of Chinese politics globally.
